ESA

Strategic Foresight and Planning Officer

Paris, France

Full Time

an hour ago

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Job description

Location
ESA Headquarters, Paris, France

Description

Strategic Foresight and Planning Officer in the Strategic Foresight and Planning Office, Strategy Department, Directorate for Strategy, Legal and External Affairs.

You will contribute to a range of activities and projects aimed at exploring long-term trends, identifying future challenges and opportunities and supporting high-level decision-making at the heart of Europe’s space ambitions.

The Strategic Foresight and Planning Office plays a key role in shaping the Agency’s future by looking beyond current expectations and exploring a range of plausible futures. It provides the Director General, the programme directorates and the broader Agency with insights and tools to set strategic goals, strengthen resilience and enable meaningful transformation.

Using advanced foresight methods, the Office identifies early signals of change across societal, technological, geopolitical, economic, environmental, legal and cultural domains. Its work enables ESA to anticipate disruptions, seize emerging opportunities and address systemic risks, thereby enabling better-informed, future-proof strategic decisions.

Based at ESA Headquarters in Paris, you will report directly to the Head of Office.

Duties

As a Strategic Foresight and Planning Officer, your key responsibilities will include:

designing and managing foresight and planning projects from end to end: selecting suitable methodologies, gathering futures intelligence, organising consultations and workshops and delivering high-quality output;
developing and contributing to impactful communication materials and strategic narratives based on foresight insights;
enhancing the Office’s foresight and planning capabilities by introducing new approaches, methodologies and tools and supporting the integration of foresight into ESA's broader strategic and planning processes;
contributing to the Office’s Futures Intelligence Reports and horizon-scanning efforts;
supervising junior professionals contributing to foresight and planning activities;

Technical competencies

Proven experience in implementing foresight and planning projects in complex environments, such as international organisations, government bodies, think tanks or large public-private systems

Solid knowledge of strategic foresight and planning tools and methods, such as scenario planning, Delphi and horizon scanning, with a demonstrated ability to apply them to support high-level strategy development

Excellent analytical, drafting and storytelling skills, particularly for senior, non-specialist audiences

Ability to work across disciplines and synthesise large volumes of diverse information into clear, structured output

Capacity to link complex future analysis to current strategic or policy priorities

Self-directed research skills and the ability to deliver under time constraints and evolving needs

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation
Operational Efficiency
Fostering Cooperation
Relationship Management
Continuous Improvement
Forward Thinking

For more information, please refer to the ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook.

Education

A master’s degree in a relevant discipline, such as futures studies, political science, international relations, geopolitics, economics, environmental or sustainability science, science and technology studies, innovation studies, social sciences or anthropology, is required.

Interdisciplinary profiles that combine two or more of the above fields are of particular interest.

Additional requirements

You should demonstrate:

flexibility and intellectual curiosity, with the ability to engage with a broad variety of strategic issues in a dynamic environment;
strong creative and problem-solving skills, along with the ability to anticipate emerging developments and propose forward-looking solutions;
confident communication and strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to work effectively in a multicultural team setting.
a general understanding of the European space sector and ESA programmes is an asset.

Experience in international or multi-stakeholder contexts is considered an asset.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness
ESA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to achieving diversity within the workforce and creating an inclusive working environment. We therefore welcome applications from all qualified candidates irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics. Applications from women are encouraged.

At the Agency we value diversity, and we welcome people with disabilities. Whenever possible, we seek to accommodate individuals with disabilities by providing the necessary support at the workplace. The Human Resources Department can also provide assistance during the recruitment process. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact us via email at contact.human.resources@esa.int.

Important Information and Disclaimer
In principle, recruitment will be within the advertised grade band (A2-A4). However, if the selected candidate has less than four years of relevant professional experience following the completion of the master’s degree, the position may be filled at A1 level.

During the recruitment process, the Agency may request applicants to undergo selection tests. Additionally, successful candidates will need to undergo basic screening before appointment, which will be conducted by an external background screening service, in compliance with the European Space Agency's security procedures.

Note that ESA is in the process of transitioning to a Matrix setup, which could lead to organisational changes affecting this position.

The information published on ESA’s careers website regarding working conditions is correct at the time of publication. It is not intended to be exhaustive and may not address all questions you would have.

Nationality and Languages
Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Canada, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia.

According to the ESA Convention, the recruitment of staff must take into account an adequate distribution of posts among nationals of the ESA Member States*. When short-listing for an interview, priority will first be given to internal candidates and secondly to external candidates from under-represented Member States*.

The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another Member State language would be an asset.

*Member States, Associate Members or Cooperating States.